Tag Archives: efficiency

South Bank theatre with $25M cost blow out shouldn’t have been funded by Qld Gov’t in first place

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Gene Tunny

Yesterday, the Brisbane Times reported COVID-19, airconditioning blamed for South Bank theatre cost blowout. The new $150 million state-government-provided theatre attached to QPAC at South Bank will cost an extra $25 million. And the project is less than one quarter … Continue reading →

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US infrastructure: lessons from Australia, with Darren Brady Nelson – Economics Explained EP36

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Gene Tunny

I recently spoke with Darren Brady Nelson about his new Heartland Institute Policy Brief How to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure: lessons from Australia. You can now listen to our conversation which I’ve published as Economics Explained EP36. Darren is an … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition policy, Infrastructure, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Inquiry should consider contestability and privatisation of QR services

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Gene Tunny

One of the alleged benefits of public provision of services is that levels of service and reliability are higher than for private provision, but the crisis engulfing Queensland Rail at the moment suggests we should question that purported benefit. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Queensland Rail, Transport, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Long-run benefits of privatisation are undeniable

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Gene Tunny

Last Friday, in an opinion piece in the Courier-Mail (see image above) that was consistent with its current “Go Queensland” campaign, I re-entered the debate on privatisation: Privatisation, legalising Uber and deregulating trading hours are first steps towards boosting the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Infrastructure, Productivity, Queensland Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

GST much more efficient way to raise revenue than income tax

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Gene Tunny

Flavio Menezes, Economics Professor at the University of Queensland, has an interesting piece at the Conversation fact checking a bold claim by federal MP Andrew Leigh that the GST is as economically inefficient as the income tax and less equitable … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Better off allocating all lease proceeds to debt reduction

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Gene Tunny

John Quiggin’s interesting new paper on the budgetary impact of asset leases, reported in the Brisbane Times today (Strong Choices will have ‘adverse impact’), correctly points out the adverse budgetary impact of the Queensland Government allocating around one-third of asset … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Infrastructure, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Is Santa good for the economy?

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Gene Tunny

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is holding a function in Sydney on Tuesday December 10 on The Capitalist Claus – Why Commercialism is Good for Christmas, featuring Miranda Devine and CIS researchers. I’ve always had mixed feelings about the economic … Continue reading →

Posted in Retail trade | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments